Eddie was cared for by Alison Pearson she wrote his story and took the pictures featured below:
Eddie was the size of a golf ball when he was handed in - a very cross golf ball! He had blood on his leg and face where crows had been pecking at him, and his snub nose, not yet developed into a hog's snout, showed just how young he was, about 3-4 weeks.
Determined not to be hand fed he lapped his goat's milk, egg and vitamin mixture from a saucer and soon gained weight. After moving on to squidgy cat food he left the house to live in a large hutch in the garage but still on a warm,heat pad. It was here that Eddie discovered the love of his life - meal worms!
At first he was fed several times a day but to make sure he became nocturnal like other hogs he was, by the time he was 300gm., only being fed in the evenings, although if he heard the lid of the mealworm box opening he was there at once!
Like many animals that suffer trauma he began to lose condition and his fur and prickles started to fall out. Giant dandruff appeared. For some time, until he reached 400gm. he had daily baths in garlic juice and scabby areas were treated with calendula and tea tree oil. It helped a lot but the smell seemed to permeate the whole house, although it kept the flies away and possible visitors too!! When he was judged to be sturdy enough, a visit to the vet's for the magic potion vanquished any remaining mites that had contributed to his distressing baldness.
Eddie is now over 500gm and living outside. Hopefully he will be released into a safe garden soon. He is still quite friendly and does not always curl up when approached but has developed a fierce hiss, especially if disturbed in his bed. Eddie is a hog-bed maker of the greatest skill and it has been interesting to see how he uses the variety of bed material he has been given - newspaper, shredded paper, hay, kitchen roll, scraps of fur fabric etc, have all been skillfully woven into a wonderful cosy bed. Anything he does not approve of gets shoved out the door!
I will miss him as he is a real character!
Alison
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